Bar Code
Bar Code, or Barcode, (Japanese: 八バイ八バイ二 8 By 8 By 2) is a 2001 fighting game for the Nintendo GameCube home console, and the sequel to the 1999 game Checkmate. The game features 26 playable characters from various video games released prior to 2001. The game is a parody of the Super Smash Bros. series' second installment for the same console, and, like its prequel, was made for one of the ''Lapis Game Jam'' challenges. Like Checkmate, the game was created to bring together video games and celebrate its history. Checkmate was named for the checkboard design in which there are 64 x 64 squares. The sequel, Bar Code, is named after the 128th Code of the Uniform Symbology Specification. Additionally, 64, when multiplied by 2, equals to 128. According to the Order of the Partial Macrocosm, Bar Code takes place three to four years after Checkmate. Story :The year is 20XX After the defeat of the Kool-Aid Man and saving the Earth, his adviser, Polygon Man, went on to take over the remains of the alien colony, transforming the scared alien creatures into cyborg, killing machines. With the Kool-Aid Man's memories preserved inside an artificial intelligence CPU chip, he returns to the Earth in a robotic exosuit and warns the fighters who defeated him of the impending attack. With advice to gain more fighters, they set off to gain reinforcements and Gameplay The game is a 2.5D fighter that plays almost exactly the same as the Super Smash Bros. series. Fighters duel in a themed arena, often having to avoid gimmicks, in order to knock them off the screen and past the blast line. Damaging players raises their percentage. The higher the damage percentage, the further they get knocked back by attacks. Fighters can also use items in order to further damage their opponents. These items do different things, from firing blasts to spawning assistance. Modes *'1P Mode' - A single player fights through 12 stages- with three brand new boss battle fights and the returning Polygon Man battle. *'Boss Mode' - A single player must fight through all seven boss battles - the four from Checkmate and the new three - with a single life (or two, on easy mode). The order the bosses are fought in is completely random. *'Bonus Mode' - Consists of two game modes: **'Minute Race' - A single player must race through a large area filled with mini-challenges and opponents and reach the end. **'Target Race' - A single player must destroy all 12 targets within a five minute time period. *'Versus Mode' - Up to four players can fight each other in a casual battle. Settings can be changed, making the game either timed or with a set number of lives. Additionally, computer opponents can replace human characters should the players choose to. **'Tournament' - A new tournament sub-mode of the original versus mode. Players can set up to two to four fighters per fight and from eight to thirty-two participants: whether they be CPU or player-controlled. Characters There are twenty-six playable characters in the game. The original twelve characters return from Checkmate, with an additional 14 new characters added into the game. Akari Hayami and Riou, who were unlockable characters in the predecessors, are now default characters. Playable Characters Default *'Quarterback' - Tecmo Super Bowl - 1991; NES *'NiGHTS' - NiGHTS into Dreams... - 1996; SEGA Saturn *'Timber the Tiger' - Diddy Kong Racing - 1997; Nintendo 64 *'Worm' - Worms - 1995; Amiga *'Ristar' - Ristar - 1995; SEGA Genesis *'Marathon' - Marathon - 1994; Mac OS *'Master of Magic' - Master of Magic - 1994; MS-DOS 5.0+ *'Mappy' - Mappy - 1983; Arcade *'Akari Hayami' - 1080° Snowboarding - 1998; Nintendo 64 *'Riou' - Suikoden II - 1998; PlayStation *'Tingle' - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - 2000; Nintendo 64 *'Ashley Riot' - Vagrant Story - 2000; PlayStation *'Beat' - Jet Set Radio - 2000; Dreamcast *'Virtua Racer' - Virtua Racer - 1992; Arcade *'Scorpion' - Mortal Kombat - 1992; Arcade Unlockable *'Banjo & Kazooie' - Banjo-Kazooie - 1998; Nintendo 64 - Unlocked by beating 1P as every default character. *'Aya Brea' - Parasite Eve - 1998; PlayStation - Unlocked by beating 1P as Banjo & Kazooie. *'Momo' - Wonder Momo - 1987; Arcade - Unlocked by beating Boss Mode as Aya Brea. *'Throttle' - Biker Mice From Mars - 1994; Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Unlocked by beating 1P as Momo. *'Adventurer' - Dokapon: Monster Hunter - 2001; GameBoy Advance - Unlocked by beating Boss Mode as Throttle. *'Cyprien' - Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles - 2001; PlayStation - Unlocked by beating 1P as Adventurer. *'Darius' - Evergrace - 2000; PlayStation - Unlocked by beating Boss Mode as Cyprien. *'Karte' - Dimahoo - 2000; Arcade - Unlocked by beating 1P as Darius. *'8 Man' - 8 Man - 1991; Neo-Geo - Unlocked by beating Boss Mode as Karte. *'Big Nose' - Big Nose the Caveman - 1991; Nintendo Entertainment System - Unlocked by beating 1P as 8 Man. *'Ikachan' - Ikachan - 2000; PC - Unlocked by beating Boss Mode as Big Nose. Non-Playable Characters *'Dr. Plummet' - Dr. Plummet's House of Flux - 1989; Amiga - Fought at Stage 6 of 1P. **Unique battle. Instead of KOing Dr. Plummet, one must solve a puzzle involving attacking a ship to destroy the shields around the doctor. *'Kenta' - Monkey Puncher - Game Boy Color; 2000 - Fought at Stage 9 of 1P. *'Jack' - Dōbutsu no Mori - Nintendo 64; 2001 - Fought at Stage 10 of 1P. *'Polygon Man' - PlayStation - 1995 - Fought at the end of 1P. *'Chemic' - Phozon - 1983; Arcade; Japan Only - Fought in Boss Mode. **Unique battle. Instead of KOing the Chemic, one must destroy the Moleks surrounding it to win. *'Lemmings' - Lemmings - 1991; Amiga - Fought in Boss Mode *'Kool-Aid Man' - Kool-Aid Man - 1983; Atari 2600 - Fought in Boss Mode. Stages Default Stages *'Port' - 1869 - 1992; MS-DOS *'Black Crypt' - Black Crypt - 1992; Amiga *'Bedroom' - Clock Tower - 1995; Super Famicom *'Planet of the Robot Monsters' - Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters - 1989; Arcade *'Juggernauts USA' - The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Juggernauts - 1992; Game Boy *'Volleyball' - Beach Volley - 1989; Amiga *'Dreams' - Dreams to Reality - 1997; PlayStation *'Box Storage' - Boxxle - 1989; Game Boy *'Dance Dance Revolution' - Dance Dance Revolution - 2001; PlayStation *'Oceanity' - Fray in Magical World - 1990; MSX *'Rainbow Road' - Super Mario Kart - 1992; Super Nintendo Entertainment System *'Mystic Midway' - Mystic Midway: Rest in Pieces - 1992; Philips CD-i *'Ark' - Noah's Ark - 1992; Nintendo Entertainment System *'Q3DM0' - Quake III Arena - 1999; Microsoft Windows *'Myst' - Myst - 1993; Mac OS *'Plane Company' - Ninja Baseball Bat Man - 1993; Arcade *'Jurassic Park' - Jurassic Park - 1993; Nintendo Entertainment System *'Vita 1' - Martian Gothic: Unification - 2000; Microsoft Windows Unlockable Stages *'Grouchland' - The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland - 1999; Game Boy - Complete Boss Mode without losing a life. *'Dweep' - Dweep - 1999; Microsoft Windows - Complete 1P without losing a life. *'Mortuary Room' - Planescape: Torment - 1992; Microsoft Windows - Complete Boss Mode as Worm. *'Office' - Incredible Crisis - 1999; PlayStation - Fail Boss Mode once. *'Rusted Land' - Metal Walker - 1999; Game Boy Color - Complete Boss Mode as all characters. *'Gridonion Asteroid Field' - Grid Runner - 1996; PlayStation - Complete 1P as Marathon. *'Fort Apocalypse' - Fort Apocalypse - 1982; Commodore 64 - Complete Boss Mode as Virtua Racer. *'Town' - Phantom Fighter - 1988; Nintendo Entertainment System - Complete 1P as Master of Magic. *Returning Stage: Earth? - Zool - 1992; Amiga - Complete 1P as Ristar. *Returning Stage: Rayon - Bubsy 3D - 1996; PlayStation - Complete 1P as NiGHTS. *Returning Stage: Dock - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior - 1991; Arcade - Complete 1P as Riou. Items *'Stop 'n' Swop' - Banjo-Kazooie - 1998; Nintendo 64 - Releases a random assist character. **'Jazz Jackrabbit' - Jazz Jackrabbit - 1994; Arcade - Fires a barrage of laser beams in front of him. **'Demitri' - Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors - 1994; PlayStation - Projects small clouds of fire on either side of himself. **'Mercenary 1' - Jagged Alliance - 1994; MS-DOS - Heals the fighter that spawns it by 50%. **'Mercenary 2' - Jagged Alliance - 1994; MS-DOS - Plants a land mine where he is spawned. Triggered when an opponent moves over it. **'UFO' - UFO: Enemy Unknown - 1994; Amiga - Activates a laser beam that fires downwards for 10 seconds. **'Ramdozer' - Blast Corps - 1997; Nintendo 64 - Rushes forward. Deals no damage, but is an almost guaranteed OHKO. **'John Cain' - One - 1997; PlayStation - Fires small blasts on either side of him from his arm cannon, before shooting a larger blast above him. **'PaRappa the Rapper' - PaRappa the Rapper - 1997; PlayStation - Sings into his microphone, creating small shockwaves. **'Mage' - Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord - 1981; Arcade - Creates a small orb of damage magic, before firing it downwards. **'Cursor' - Computer - Useless. Moves around the screen randomly, but deals no damage. Serves as a distraction. *'Honeycomb' - Banjo-Kazooie - 1998; Nintendo 64 - Heals fighters by a small amount. *'Force Shield' - Jazz Jackrabbit - 1994; Arcade - Grants a fighter invincibility for 10 seconds. *'Dart Pistol' - System Shock - 1994; MS-DOS - Fires up to three explosive charges. *'Tome of Power' - Heretic - 1994; MS-DOS - Fires small orbs of lightning. Can be charged to make these larger. *'Hand' - Dungeon Keeper - 1997; MS-DOS - Allows the player to slap their opponents. This gives them a temporary speed boost, though deals damage during this time. *'Wave Arrow' - Poy Poy - 1997; PlayStation - Fires a blast of water forward from the ground. Can be used up to six times. *'Dark Zone' - Poy Poy - 1997; PlayStation - Explodes and creates a black cloud. Staying inside of it damages all players, including the thrower. Lasts for 10 seconds. *'Speed Star' - Poy Poy - 1997; PlayStation - Increases the fighter's speed temporarily. Lasts for 15 seconds. *'Zip' - Myst - 1993; Mac OS - Increases the speed of all players for 30 seconds, though no items spawn during this time and attacks deal half damage. *'Voodoo Root Elixir' - The Secret of Monkey Island - 1990; Amiga - Disables the ability to jump and pick up items for anyone hit with the bottle. *'Root Beer' - The Secret of Monkey Island - 1990; Amiga - Deals damage when thrown at someone. *'Solvalou' - Xevious - 1983; Arcade - Fires small missiles forward that deal low damage and no knockback. Occasionally fires bombs that deal high damage. *'P38-Lighning' - 1943: The Battle of Midway - 1987; Arcade - The plane acts as a gun that shoots small, rapid fire bullets that deal no knockback. *'Herbs & Cauldron' - Feud - 1987; Amiga - A single fighter must collect two herbs and a cauldron. After obtaining all three pieces, they will fire a large spell across the stage, that can be aimed up or down slightly. *'Pencil Lance' - Day Dreamin' Davey - 1991; Nintendo Entertainment System - A long lance shaped as a pencil. When the attack button is held, the lance takes on a more realistic appearance, and the fighter charges forward slowly with it outstretched in front of them. *'Fireball' - Black Heart - 1991; Arcade - A fireball that can be thrown forward. It grows in size (and deals more damage) as it travels. *'Spread Bomb' - DonPachi - 1995; Arcade - A small bomb that, when thrown, will fire lasers in six random directions before exploding. *'Ali's Gloves' - Foes of Ali - 1995; 3DO Interactive Multiplayer - Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves that increase the damage dealt by physical attacks for a limited time. Profiles All characters, both playable and non-playable have a profile that describes the game and the character's role that they have in it. Mappy (1983) :In this game of cat and mouse, Mappy is a policeman whose job is to capture and imprison criminals. The famous, mousy policeman travels to the mansion of the Meowky to retrieve the stolen artifacts. He can use trampolines and close doors to stop the attacking cat burglars, though they will sometimes break them down, like holes in swiss cheese. Phozon (1983) :What's better than science class? Phozon is, of course! In this game of Beautiful Katamari, the small, black Chemic must collect the colourful Moleks in order to create the same bond as the one shown in the middle of the screen. The Atomic is the Phozon's only enemy, instantly killing him with his ever-growing number of atoms. Kool-Aid Man (1983) :Ever since 1954, a large jug of red juice has been crashing through walls to deliver Kool-Aid to thirsty children across the globe. In fact, he got his own video game in 1983. In this juicy adventure, the Kool-Aid Man must protect a large lake of Kool-Aid from the small "Thirsties" that fly around above it. He has to avoid the flying ones and knock the ones attempting to drink from the lake using their long, rainbow straws. Wonder Momo (1987) :Ultraman was a Japanese superhero from a 1960's television series where he fought giant kaiju. Twenty years later, a female version of him was created: Wonder Momo. Momo Chan is a young woman who mysteriously gains superpowers. Momo's attacks are kicking, firing energy blasts, creating tornadoes, and her ever-trusty "Wonder Hoop". She traverses the play being set in the Namco Theatre, wishing for her play to end so she can go home and rest. Dr. Plummet's House of Flux (1989) :Take Johann Conrad Dippel, the man trying to move souls from living beings into corpses, combine him with Josef Mengele, a Nazi scientist who experimented on twins and "Dr. Pure Evil" Shiro Ishii. The result? About half as mad as Dr. Plummet. The man tasks a young player with tests, forcing them to go through insane worlds in order to save the astronauts trapped within his House of Flux. What happened to him after the tests were successful? No one knows.... Tecmo Super Bowl (1991) :Have you ever played an NFL game? Do you love them? Well, you should thank Tecmo for their great 1991 game. The first game to use both real teams and real players, Super Bowl is.... pretty much just like every other 8 to 16-bit American football game. From an overhead view, the goal of the game is to.... get touchdowns or something. I've never been great with sports. 8 Man (1991) : Big Nose the Caveman (1991) : Lemmings (1991) : Virtua Racer (1992) : Mortal Kombat (1992) : Marathon (1994) : Master of Magic (1994) : Biker Mice From Mars (1994) : Worms (1995) : Ristar (1995) : PlayStation (1995) : NiGHTS (1996) : Timber the Tiger (1997) : 1080° Snowboarding (1998) : Suikoden II (1998) : Banjo-Kazooie (1998) : Parasite Eve (1998) : The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000) : Vagrant Story (2000) : Jet Set Radio (2000) : Evergrace (2000) : Dimahoo (2000) : Ikachan (2000) : Monkey Puncher (2000) : Dokapon: Monster Hunter (2001) : Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles (2001) : Dōbutsu no Mori (2001) :